Wild Alaskan King Salmon with Blueberry Sauce

Blueberries and salmon, now that is a winning combination! This recipe for wild Alaskan King salmon with blueberry sauce was inspired by the renown restaurant, Dukes Chowder House located in Seattle, Washington.What is not to love about a thick, moist slab of wild Alaskan King salmon, broiled to perfection and slathered in a sauce of savory blueberries!

Each week Dukes Chowder House challenges his website readers to a contest in recreating one of their menu recipes.This wild Alaskan King salmon with blueberry sauce was the challenge for August 2015.

Duke’s recipe also included a round slice of soft goat cheese which we eliminate in our version. We are not entering the contest as I do believe the deadline for submitting the recipe has come and gone :)….But, this salmon recipe is a winner in our house!

Wild Alaskan King salmon is one of my favorite salmon choices with the Silver following close behind.As King salmon is usually more pricey than other species it is mostly reserved as a special treat but any salmon can be substituted.

For this recipe, we chose thick fillets of the King rather than the steaks but it is all a matter of personal choice.

Soaking the salmon in a salt-water brine retains moisture and helps reduce that ugly white goop that oozes out of salmon when it cooks.A nice long soak overnight is good but even this short 15-minute soak will improve the moistness of the fish.

While the fish was brining and the broiler was preheating, we prepared the blueberry sauce.Earlier in the day I checked out our four blueberry bushes to see if the deer had left enough for my recipe, but those greedy critters had almost stripped the bushes.

We used a pint of store-bought blueberries to make this lovely sauce.We cooked half of the blueberries with a little white wine, lemon juice, lemon zest and fresh thyme leaves.

This is a savory sauce and the sweetness comes from just the blueberries with a sprinkle of salt to bring out their natural sweetness.

Simmering the blueberries releases their juices and reducing the sauce gives it a nice texture.When the sauce reached the desired thickness, a dab of butter was added to give it a beautiful sheen and rich flavor. The remaining blueberries were added just long enough to heat them.Oh, yum!This sauce is sooo good!

The salmon was rinsed and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, then put under the preheated broiler for six minutes.We like our salmon cooked just a tad under-done at the rare stage so it is moist and flakey.If you like your salmon more well-done then broil it for eight minutes but longer than that you take a chance on dry salmon.

We served this King salmon on a bed of quinoa and spooned that wonderful blueberry sauce over the top, garnished it with fresh thyme sprigs and lemon wedges.

Instructions

For the Salmon:

Place the salmon in a shallow dish and pour enough brine solution to cover the fish. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for at least 15 minutes.

For the Blueberry Sauce:

Add one-half of the blueberries to a saucepan set over medium heat. Add the lemon juice and white wine and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer while mashing the blueberries slightly to release their juices. Add the lemon zest and a pinch of salt. Continue to cook, reducing the sauce to a slightly thickened consistency. About 5-8 minutes. Add the remaining blueberries, gently tossing to coat in the sauce and heating through. Stir in the butter and the thyme leaves. Remove from the heat, cover and keep warm.

To Finish the Salmon:

Remove the salmon fillets from the brine, rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place the salmon on the prepared baking sheet, brush top and sides of the salmon with oil and transfer to the oven at least 4-5 inches from the broiling element. Broil 6 minutes for medium doneness and 8 minutes for well done.

Remove the salmon from the oven and plate, spooning the warm blueberry sauce on each serving. Garnish with the thyme sprigs and lemon wedges.

Notes

Decide how much water you need to cover the fish, then mix salt, sugar and water in proportions of: 1 tablespoon kosher salt and 1 teaspoon sugar per cup of water.2..Thawed frozen blueberries may be substituted

On occasion, Savor the Best is compensated through the use of affiliate links, product reviews, and sponsored posts. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Thank you for your support.